Home and The World

Context: The World University Rankings and its parameters are inadequate to quantify the standards of Indian higher educational systems; The National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) provides a solution. 

Fallouts of World University Ranking System

• Force Universities to alter their core missions: The obsession to be within the top 100 universities in the world is exasperating, which forces them to change their unique standards.
• The reason JNU is ranked lower is that it does not offer many undergraduate programmes.
• A potential danger of creating elitism among universities through this ranking as lower-ranked universities may lose out on many counts. 
• Some top-ranked universities want to collaborate only with other top-ranked universities.
• Skewed world rankings will downgrade the university education to a mere commodity. 
• International ranking organisations are often sightless about what it takes to build a world-class educational system as compared to a world-class university. 

Fault in the Parameters

• Perception carries almost 50% weightage in many world university ranking schemes and can lead to inaccurate or unreasonable conclusions as
• It is a result of different stimuli such as knowledge, memories, and expectancies of people. 
• It cannot be a quantifiable standalone parameter.
• Use of citations as a primary indicator of productivity and scientific impact a discipline makes. 
• The number of citations is highest in multidisciplinary sciences and is the lowest in visual and performing arts and literature.
• Thus, institutions like JNU are at a disadvantage 
• The rigid methodology used by international ranking organisations 
• They are not willing to add either additional parameters or change the weightage of current parameters. 
• Some Indian higher education institutions have alleged a lack of transparency in the parameters that are used in the ranking process.

Way Forward: National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) 

• Multidimensional Parameters: such as teaching, learning & resources, research and professional practice, graduation outcomes, outreach and inclusivity and peer perception.

•  NIRF gives only 10% weightage for perception.

• Inclusive: Categories include - University, Engineering, Management and Pharmacy, College, Medical, Law, Architecture and Dental 
• Recognises and promotes the diversity and intrinsic strengths: of Indian educational institutes.
• Stimulates healthy competition: among Indian educational institutes
• Act as a catalyst for the transformation of local universities: to world-class institutions.

Conclusion: World-class educational system with a focus on innovation, best teaching-learning processes, research-oriented towards social good, affirmative action plans for inclusive and accessible education, will have a more visible social and economic impact.